Today, I had the privilege of attending Bo’s session on what makes a company great at the S. Dale High Center for Family Business. I found him to be an excellent speaker and thought he shared many valuable insights.

As Bo was doing research for his book, he wanted to find if there were companies in America that were “Small Giants.” Companies that he called great, but chose to not necessarily grow at any cost. He listed 6 criteria to be considered for his book:

1. The owners have reached a crossroads, meaning they had an opportunity to expand, to grow, sell out, or go public and chose not to do that.

2. They are recognized by their peers as being the best at what they do.

3. They have been singled out for their contributions and impact on their community.

4. They have been consistently profitable for 15-20 years.

5. They have what he calls Human-Scale. The company was still at a size that the entry level employees knew top management, i.e. CEO.

6. They have Mojo – people want to work for that company, buy from that company, sell to that company, etc.

So what did he learn doing all this research? That all these great Small Giants had 6 key characteristics:

1. The Leader Factor. The leader/owner knew who they were, knew what they wanted out of the business, and why.

2. The Community Factor. The companies were rooted in the community in which they did business. They became part of the fabric and bonded with the community. Burlingham describes this as The Mona Lisa Principle. The Mona Lisa is housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, and viewing this piece of art would not be the same experience in another museum, in a different city, and in a different country.

3. The Customer/Supplier Factor. These businesses had a personal tie or connection to their vendors, customers, etc.

4. Employee Factor. The customer comes second – the employees come first. In other words, in order to be a great organization, you first need to have engaged employees that are the front lines of servicing your customers. If your employees are unhappy, your customers won’t be treated as well.

5. The Margin Factor. All the companies had a sound business model and they protected their gross margins. Volume and top line revenue are not everything.

6. The Passion Factor. The owner/leaders are in love with their companies and what they do. They keep the passion year after year. They have the soul of an artist, but happen to be in business.

Why is all this important? These Small Giants have set a high standard and are more than just building blocks of our economy. They impact the quality of life for the community and often these communities take on the values of these businesses. It is more than just providing jobs.

Every company can aspire to be a Small Giant and the more that achieve it, the better our country will be.